If you have been following Calypso Island Chronicles, you may remember a post I made about a trip I took to Peru late last summer. The highlight of my trip (and perhaps the most memorable travel experience I have ever had) was an arduous four-hour hike to the top of Waynu Picchu, where at the summit there are magnificent views of the famed Machu Picchu archaeological site. With these wonderful memories still fresh in my mind, I took a special interest in an article that recently appeared in the travel section of San Francisco Chronicle by John Flinn, the travel editor. Entitled The Other Inca Trail, Mr Flinn chronicles his recent experience on a five-day trek on the Salcantay trail to Machu Picchu.

As noted by Mr. Flinn, the Salcantay trek to Machu Picchu is an excellent alternative to the famed Inca Trail, which in recent years has become too popular for its own good - the famous trail has become so heavily traveled and littered with garbage that the Peruvian government has stepped in and imposed strict quotas on its usage. In addition to having far less traffic, the Salcantay trail is higher in elevation, affords more spectacular views and is considered slightly more difficult than the Inca trail. Another option is the Lares trek.

On Mr. Flinn’s trip, there was an upscale twist to the basic trek theme - instead of camping out and eating basic camp grub, the tour group’s accommodations were in small comfortable lodges located along the trail and they dined every night on haute Andean gourmet cuisine to the accompaniment of fine Chilean wines and Pisco sours. Situated at 12,500 ft up in Peruvian Andes, the 12 room Salcantay Lodge - the most deluxe of the hotels on the trek - even had a Jacuzzi, where tour participants could soak their weary muscles after a day of hiking.

The 7 day/6 night ‘luxury’ trek package is offered thru Mountain Lodges of Peru – includes 5 days of hiking with guides and support crew, all meals and accommodations, a guided tour of Machu Picchu and return transfer to Cusco from Aguas Calientes by train/ bus. Cost is $2500 per person double occupancy.

Note: Tour participants should be physically fit as this trek covers 35 miles of walking/hiking in high elevation, mountainous terrain over a period of 5 days

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 29th, 2008 at 7:49 am and is filed under Peru, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.